CSK had multiple underperforming all-rounders.
After an abysmal last season, the CSK retention list ahead of the IPL 2026 auction might face a lot of big names. The CSK released players 2026 set might see more players than any other franchise, as they had multiple loopholes in their squad. Historically, they have been known for backing their players, but IPL 2025 exposed faults in their strategy, forcing them to bring fresh ideas.
Among the many tricky calls during finalising CSK retained players 2026 will be the selection of all-rounders, who were in big numbers last season, even if most of them failed. From Ravindra Jadeja and Vijay Shankar in the Indian department to Sam Curran and Jamie Overton overseas, the franchise had multiple capable options. However, CSK must release quite a few of them to free purse and accommodate better players in this category.
At this stage, no all-rounder has a settled spot in the CSK retained players 2026 list following what transpired in IPL 2025. They are already planning to trade Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran – two of their favourites – to get Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals (RR). That hints that the Chennai Super Kings retention list won’t have enough all-rounders, as they strive to get the best available in the auction.
Those who have a chance of staying in the CSK retention list are Shivam Dube and probably Rachin Ravindra. The worst part is that both rarely bowl for the Yellow Army and mostly play as a batter. So, basically, they don’t retain any all-rounders, which is understandable since most of them are unsuited for the T20 format.
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Last season confirmed one thing: CSK’s tried and tested formula of banking on experienced players won’t work if quality remains missing. The acquisition of Deepak Hooda and Vijay Shankar never made sense, and their performances left the team reeling. They hardly contributed to any department and looked beyond workable across departments.
Hooda played five matches, scoring 31 runs at an average of 6.20 and a strike rate of 75.60. He bowled a solitary over with the ball, where he leaked 15 runs, and was never used. Meanwhile, Shankar scored 118 runs at a strike rate of 129.67, 69 of which came in one innings, albeit in a losing cause, and never had a chance to bowl.
If they are among the CSK released players 2026, the franchise will free up valuable INR 2.90 crore, which should be enough to get someone better in the Indian section. Several domestic performers, such as Shivam Mavi, have been performing well and can contribute with both bat and ball. Even otherwise, CSK need to upgrade since both are well past their primes and don’t fit in IPL.
Now that CSK will most likely trade Ravindra Jadeja to the Rajasthan Royals, they should rethink before letting Jamie Overton go, since he fits nicely in their setup. He can act as an enforcer and bowl hard lengths in the middle overs because he has the pace, and his natural lengths are short.
Additionally, CSK desperately require a pace-hitter in the lower order since MS Dhoni has shown signs of regression and won’t play many seasons. Not many quality options will be available in the mini auction, but Overton already does that job for every T20 team he plays for.
Hence, the English all-rounder can be in the CSK retention list 2026, especially after trading or releasing Sam Curran. He doesn’t cost them a big sum and offers multiple values that are hard to replicate and often require two different players.
For now, CSK might look to part ways with Ravindra Jadeja. Based on that, they should include the following all-rounders among CSK retained players 2026.
With Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement, CSK will free up around INR 14 crore from the all-rounders category alone. A few other releases will allow them to buy players like Cameron Green in the IPL 2026 auction and become more dynamic than ever.
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